Bruce Bleeds
by MarvelGeek
Summary: Bruce Banner is amazing, he's the Incredible Hulk for Pete's sake. But what people don't normally realize is that Bruce isn't as strong as the Hulk, he isn't invincible. He's human. He's a human man with hemophilia.
1. Chapter 1

Bruce Banner had gone straight to sleep after the fight with the Chitauri and Shawarma with the rest of the Avengers. He'd been exhausted both physically and mentally, so he hadn't noticed the light pain in his left kneecap. He had slept like a rock and when he woke up and pulled back the covers he groaned in agitation and frustration. His left knee was horribly swollen and tinted red from the pooling of blood inside it.

Great, now he had a leg bleed. Shit.

For most other people that wouldn't be their reaction, instead they would be wondering if their leg was broken because of this level of bleeding around the area. But not Bruce, not since he was two years old and diagnosed with Hemophilia type A.

Bruce bent over, without jostling his leg and stuck his hands under his bed, searching for his box of needles. When he managed to grab it, he pulled it up and sat it on his night stand. Then he sent a longing look towards the bathroom where his factor VIII was in the medicine cabinet above the sink. Finally he sighed and grabbed his needles, tucking them neatly under one arm and hopping on one leg towards the bathroom.

He kept at least one hand on the wall or a desk table at any given time, trying to make sure he didn't fall over and wake any of the other Avengers who were probably sleeping anyway. When he finally managed to reach the bathroom, cursing the fact that he only took factor when he was having a bleed and not all the time, the whole way.

He collapsed on the toilet and was panting heavily as he rolled up the sleeve of his baggy, white, long sleeved sleep shirt. He ran one hand through his unruly, fluffy dark hair. As he ripped the orange cap of one needle off with his teeth and reached the other hand out to dig in his cabinet and grab the factor in the clear bottle next to the Tylenol.

He stuck the needle into the clear clotting factor carefully, making sure that no bubbles were trapped in the liquid. He remembered to tap it with the nail of one finger before stabbing it into the soft skin of the inside of his right elbow.

He slowly injected the factor into his arm, then slowly removed the needle, capped it and dropped it in the trashcan near the toilet.

Bruce leaned his head backwards and against the cold surface of the wall. A small part of his brain wondered if he would have to have the blood drained from his stupid knee, how many times had he hemorrhaged in this leg again? If its more than once he had to get it drained so it wouldn't damage the joint.

Then he thought of an even more pressing issue. How was he going to sneak this past the Avengers? I mean he just met them and he's the weakest link when he isn't The Other Guy. This would just make him look even weaker. I mean they were all living together now and he still had yet to discover any of their own weaknesses.

He heaved himself to his feet, swaying slightly before limping out of the bathroom and collapsing on his bed once again. Shit, this was getting harder. He then pulled himself upright again to limp over to his closet and grab the biggest pair of sweatpants he had and a purple t-shirt. Easily slipping on the shirt and then carefully and painfully shimmed into the pants.

When he'd finished, he pulled himself to his feet again and limped towards the door. He tried to put some weight on his bum leg and instantly all the color drained out of his face and he almost collapsed on his ass. Guess he was limping and hopping then.

He left his room quickly and limped down the hall as quickly as he could manage. Then he reached a flight of stairs and bit his lip hard in anticipation of the pain to come. Bruce slowly lowered himself onto the first step and then the second. Making sure to cling to the railing for dear life.

If only he could make it to the level where the kitchen and living room was, then he could ride the elevator the rest of the way down. By the fifth stair step he was flushed and tired but he kept going until about the ninth step when the foot of his good leg slipped off the step.

He remembered hovering for a moment before toppling forwards and rolling like a rag doll down at least two flights of stairs, he lost count. At least he remembered to cover his head as best as he could.

When he finally reached a stop he was upside down and looking up at the face of none other than Tony Stark. Tony actually looked quite concerned and he bent down to help Bruce up.

"Hey Brucie! You okay?"

Tony asked and Bruce gave a vague nod, hands flying to his face where he felt a warm liquid dripping. He pulled his hands away from cupping his nose and they were covered in blood. Really world?! Really?!

Bruce cupped his nose again and tilted his head backwards, he was a pro at this. But he knew that his stupid factor and needles were upstairs and he still needed to get his leg drained, he would have to go to the hospital.

"Woah Bruce! You're really bleeding!"

Tony exclaimed when he saw the large amount of blood staining Bruce's hands and the front of his shirt already. Bruce himself looked pale and shaky, Tony didn't like the look of him at all.

"Wait here for a minute, Specs!"

Tony whispered and jumped up to go get the rest of the Avengers, he needed back up. Bruce rolled his eyes and tried to heave himself to his feet, but failed miserably. He just decided to lean his head back against the side of a wall while holding onto his nose.

" !"

Bruce looked up when he heard Steve's voice and he smiled, shaking his head.

"How many times have I told you to call me Bruce, Cap?"

He slurred through his bloody nose. Steve raised an eyebrow when he saw the amount of blood around and covering Bruce. When Clint, Natasha and Thor arrived they all froze in their tracks when they saw him. He just gave them a smile as well.

"Well Bruce then, I'm not a doctor but I don't think you should be bleeding this much from a nosebleed."

Steve whispered as he held up a handful of tissues which Bruce gratefully took.

"Look, could one of you drive me to the hospital?"

Bruce asked with a long suffering look, and Tony raised an eyebrow at that statement.

"Why? It's just a nosebleed, it'll stop soon."

Tony shrugged and Bruce shook his head, gesturing vaguely to his left knee that was pretty much throbbing now.

"No, I have to go get my leg drained. I'm a Type A nosebleed can be fixed upstairs but frankly I really don't want to bother."

Bruce stated quietly but everyone heard it, Steve looked confused but Bruce saw awareness dawn in Tony's eyes. Tony nodded and offered an arm for Bruce to cling too. Bruce gratefully took it and Tony pulled him to his feet, Steve hurried over and supported Bruce's other side.

"What's a hemophiliac?"

Steve asked and Bruce opened his mouth to answer but Tony beat him to it.

"It's someone with a condition where your blood can't clot, right?"

Tony asked and Bruce shrugged the best he could with his arms around two other men.

"It's a factor VIII deficiency for Type A's."

He murmured, and chose to ignore the confused looks from Steve, Tony and the rest of the Avengers who were following them to make sure Bruce didn't fall. Yay.

-TimeSkip-

The next time Bruce blinked into consciousness he was in the car with Tony driving recklessly as usual. The weird thing was he didn't remember getting in there, and why was he leaning against Steve? Not that he was entirely complaining, the super soldier was quite comfortable.

"Where are we?"

Bruce slurred then spat the blood out of his mouth that had dripped from his nose. He didn't even want to look at the bloody shape his shirt was in now.

"Almost to the hospital, Bruce."

Clint answered from somewhere to his left and Bruce just nodded. He was trying to keep the feeling of needing to vomit quelled. Just then Tony pulled into the hospital, leaping out of the car to swing open the door on Bruce's side and help Steve get Bruce out of the car. The thin dark haired man was sickeningly pale and glassy eyed.

Clint, Thor and Natasha ran inside to grab a wheelchair or at least a nurse and Tony helped Steve support Bruce. Which seemed to be a good plan until Bruce bent over and vomited on the ground. Tony recoiled slightly but when he saw the hurt look in Bruce's eyes he just kept walking.

Finally Steve got fed up with their slow process and lifted Bruce into his arms. The dark haired man didn't even protest as Tony made sure he didn't fall and Steve carried him in. The moment they were actually in the hospital Tony yelled as loud as he possibly could've.

"Help! We need Help over here!"

He yelled and within moments a wheelchair was being wheeled over to them, pushed by a young woman with curly brown hair and wide hazel eyes. She took one look at Bruce and nodded for Steve to put him on the stretcher.

"Name, Age, medical conditions?"

She rattled off instantly and before either Steve or Tony could answer, Bruce spoke.

"Robert 'Bruce' Banner, I'm 29 and I've got Hemophilia A."

He whispered but she seemed to catch it all. She nodded then spoke again.

"Severity? How long? Why are you here, what happened?"

"Severe, Since I was two years old. I fell down a flight of stairs, and I need to have blood drained from my left leg where I had a joint bleed. I need Factor VIII and I'm blood type AB positive."

He murmured as she wheeled him away but Steve and Tony seemed to be glued to his sides, because they wouldn't leave. The nurse looked at them for a moment before continuing with what she was saying.

"We're going to have to give you a transfusion before we drain your knee. But before that we're going to pack and cauterize your nose."

Bruce nodded as they rolled him into a room and set him in a hospital bed, several other nurses came in and they hooked him up to dozens of machines. Tony and Steve were at a total loss as Bruce leaned back and dozens of ice packs were packed around his nose before they cauterized it. When they did, Tony and Steve had to look away.

Bruce just watched the nurses as they hooked him up to a heart monitor and an IV. Several bags were hanging from his IV, one that was full of rust colored liquid and Bruce assumed it to be the transfusion he needed.

They let him sit for a few minutes, the nurse told him that they would take him to radiology soon, to make sure he hadn't hurt himself any worse when he'd fallen down the stairs. But then he was alone with Steve and Tony.

"You're an idiot Bruce, did you know that? A full blown idiot!"

Tony snapped angrily and Bruce smiled sheepishly, the cowed under the intense glare coming from Steve. Great, now he had two new mother hens.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Why didn't you tell us that you were a Hemophiliac earlier?!"

Steve growled, pacing around Bruce's hospital room and it was making him nervous just watching the blond super soldier. Bruce sighed and ran his hand that wasn't attached to anything, through his fluffy dark hair.

"Look, I'm already the weakest link on the team when I'm not the Other Guy, okay? I didn't want you to think I was any weaker."

He whispered quietly, and watched Tony and Steve's faces contort to something that looked like pain. Tony opened his mouth to object as an overly cheery looking asian nurse with long straight hair walked in, pushing a wheelchair. She nodded at Steve and Tony then grinned at Bruce.

"Hello! My name is Songhi. I'm here to escort you to radiology."

She said, happily and Bruce nodded, shuffling to the side of the bed to move into the wheelchair. His leg was being extremely unhelpful by this point, it was stuck in a rigid position and he couldn't move it at all. Damn...would these people hurry up? This needs to get drained soon! He winced as he moved from the bed into the wheelchair because it meant jostling his already hurt leg.

Once he was settled, the nurse pushed him out of the room. He looked behind him to see Steve and Tony were following him. He sighed, well at least he wasn't going to be alone in the hospital this time.

He tightened his grip on his IV pole as it rolled down with him and tried to avoid the faces of the other people he saw. He couldn't wait till they moved him to the blood floor. The ER was horrible, it was full of screaming children, crying parents, football players, pregnant women and whatever else you could think of.

When they finally got to the Radiology department they rolled him inside and had him climb up on a scanner. A CT scan he guessed or maybe a CAT scan. He laid down on the long flat metal board and they told him not to move. Steve and Tony were pulled outside of the room and told to wait in one of the chairs outside the Radiology department for their friend.

They had both nodded and sat in the horribly uncomfortable chairs and Tony whipped out his Stark phone. Steve raised an eyebrow and Tony quickly explained.

"I'm going to look some stuff up about Hemophilia A while we wait."

Tony said and Steve nodded, looking over Tony's shoulder as he typed it in.

-TimeSkip-

By the time Bruce's scan was finished they had looked up most of what the Internet had on Hemophilia A. They were terrified for Bruce. They learned about the different kinds of bleeds. The minor ones like, the Nose, Joints, Deep Muscle bleeds and Mouth. And the major ones like, the Head, Eyes, Throat, Neck, Back, Groin, Hip and the Stomach. But several horrible phrases stuck in their minds, words like.

"Spontaneous Bleeding."

Apparently because Bruce was a Severe Hemophiliac he could bleed at any moment, at any time without any reason. What if it was a bad one?! They had to be more careful with Bruce!

"May have a bleed once or twice per week."

Really? How had they not noticed Bruce rushing off to the hospital after the fight? If he didn't that's what he should've done! Next time they were going to make sure he went. Just as they were talking without speaking, the door to the radiology room opened and Bruce appeared in his wheelchair, looking tired but otherwise okay.

"Alright then! We're going to move Mr. Banner to the Hematology floor to drain his leg. Until we get his scan results back we're going to have him stay overnight."

The overly cheery nurse said to Steve and Tony as she pushed Bruce down the hall and into the elevator. They went up a few floors and exited the elevator for Bruce to be put in a room with a window, hospital monitors and everything. Another surprise were the people who were waiting for them in the room. Clint, Natasha and Thor were all sitting in chairs around the room, they all looked up in relief as Bruce was wheeled in and hooked up to the bed.

"Are you alright Bruce?"

Clint asked instantly and Bruce nodded and smiled tiredly, the nurse left for a moment and came back with a young doctor in tow. The doctor bent over Bruce's swollen leg and observed it quietly before taking a long syringe and injecting it into his leg. The rest of the Avengers winced but Bruce looked calm and serene still. Once all of the blood was out of his leg they wrapped it and iced it.

"Mr. Banner we are going to give you some heavy narcotics to help you manage the pain, alright?"

The doctor said as he hooked another line and bag onto Bruce's IV pole. Bruce nodded, not bothering to speak, his stomach was killing him. It was like he'd been hit in the stomach by a sledge hammer multiple times. It was all he could do not to curl into a ball and moan. But it wasn't important, he'd be fine.

-TimeSkip(AFewHours)-

"The wall looks squishy!"

Tony rolled his eyes and smiled at Bruce, he was high on all the narcotics and had been playing with Thor's hair for the past hour. He was grinning wildly and then frowned, clutching his stomach. Steve leaned forwards in concern, as did Tony and the rest of the Avengers.

"Stevie! Tony! I feel yucky!"

Bruce whined and Steve looked at Tony before he heaved forwards and vomited on the edge of the bed and the floor. All the Avengers leapt back at the red liquid dripping out of Bruce's mouth, blood.

"Fuck!"

Tony screamed and leapt up to press the nurse call button on the wall incessantly. Until they were swamped with doctors and nurses all swarming around over him.

"We have his scans back! He has a GI bleed!"

One doctor yelled and it sent things into an even deeper frenzy. Because stomach bleeds were extremely serious. The Avengers just stood around looking confused.

What was going on?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Bruce's eyes were wide as they rolled him out of his room on a gurney. He turned around and reached backwards for someone.

"Stevie! Tony!"

He whined, eyes still dilated from all the narcotics. Steve and Tony both appeared at his sides, ready to comfort him. Tony glared at the doctors and nurses who were around them. Steve gave him a warning glance but Tony spoke anyway.

"What are you going to do to him?"

Tony snapped, resting a hand on Bruce's arm protectively. The doctor on his right side sighed and looked at Tony.

"His spleen ruptured and we're going to give him constant infusions of Factor VIII and blood so it will diminish the chance of a bleed and infection."

The doctor sighed and Steve stiffened, anger and worry spreading across his features as Tony turned practically red with rage and worry. Tony was shaking, his knuckles white against the cold metal frame on the side of the gurney.

"I don't know if you've forgotten but he has Hemophilia! What if he bleeds out?! Will you be able to stop it!?"

Tony yelled, angrily. He looked like he wanted to strangle the doctor and Steve sent him another warning glance. The doctor just sighed as if he'd seen this all before.

"He'll be fine if we can remove his spleen, we are giving him a special surgery, we aren't cutting him entirely open, its called Laparoscopic surgery, he must have had a strong blow to his stomach when he fell down the stairs, because of the evidence of bleeding."

The nurse pushing Bruce said gently, then two more nurses ushered Tony and Steve away from the stretcher, and led them back to Bruce's hospital room to wait. They both sent longing looks towards the gurney that held Bruce as it disappeared down the hall. Steve and Tony went to sit tensely with the rest of the Avengers as they waited for their doctor to come out of his own surgery.

-TimeSkip-

Tony and Steve were awakened by a elderly grandmother-looking nurse who came to retrieve them. She was smiling softly so they knew that the words weren't going to be totally horrible, yet she looked like the kind of woman who would be beaming if it were good news and she wasn't beaming. Steve leapt to his feet and pulled Tony with him as she approached.

"There were some complications. They've moved him to the ICU. Does he have any family we can contact?"

The nurse spoke gently and Tony slammed a hand on Steve's chest, the super soldier didn't even wince. Tony flashed her a Stark grin and held out a hand.

"I'm Tony Banner-Stark, his big brother. This is Steve Banner, his other older brother; Clint Barton-Banner, a cousin on our mother's side; Natasha Romanoff-Banner, another dear cousin; and then Thor Banner, our Uncle."

Tony introduced happily and the nurse smiled, genuinely. As she led them from the room and down the hall, she gestured for them to follow her into the elevator. They all did so and crowded into the elevator.

"You're such a good family, watching out for the sick one!"

She crooned, pushing the button for the 15 floor. The elevator sputtered to life and began to carry them and they let the nurse babble uncontrollably. About the weather, anything that could be seen as common small talk.

She was just trying to keep them distracted and happy before they saw Bruce, the moment Tony realized that he felt his heart sink to his knees in worry. He and Steve were the first two out of the elevator to follow the nurse.

But the moment she led them into the ICU, both of them felt nauseated at the smell of sick people and the symphony of heart monitors and breathing machines. She led them to a room with the number 2239 on it. She swung open the door to expose a whirlwind of doctors and nurses crowded around a small curled up body on the bed.

Bruce was curled up in a ball, wearing nothing but a hospital gown so they could easily see the myriad of bruises covering his arms and neck. He was hooked up to a heart monitor, a breathing tube down his throat, he seemed to be shaking, pale and covered in sweat. Tony and Steve practically flew over to be at his side, but the doctors and nurses that were swarming him, kept pushing them back.

Steve frowned and finally had to beat his way through, tugging Tony around with him. Within moments Steve was crouched by Bruce's head, the man was groggy and gazed at them feverishly before reaching out a shaking hand to Tony and Steve.

"C-Cold."

Bruce whimpered hoarsely, blinking up at them pitifully Tony looked around for a blanket but he didn't see one, just the starchy hospital sheets. Tony nodded to Steve and both of them climbed into the bed with Bruce, holding him tightly between them. Tony could feel the heat radiating off of him, but he hummed contentedly at their touch.

"You're comfy."

He hummed and Tony smiled as he pushed the sweaty stuck hair off Bruce's forehead, gently. Bruce leaned into Steve who held him and Tony who did small ministrations to he fluffy sweat dampened dark hair.

"He's contracted a high fever and we're checking him for inhibitors tomorrow. He's going to have to stay the night to make sure he reacts well to the surgery."

The nurse explained gently to them as she made sure to escort out the swarming physicians. Provable to leave the 'Family' alone for some privacy. Tony and Steve were heartbroken as they looked at Bruce, the way he looked so utterly pitiful.

When he began to vomit as a side effect, Clint swooped to grab a kidney basin they lunged to hold it under his chin, as vomit pouring into the basin, Bruce shook from the spasms and gave a heart wrenching cry in pain and Tony and Steve felt their hearts break into even tinier pieces.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bruce slept fitfully that night or maybe it was just Tony and Steve. Both of them hadn't left his side for the longest time. Both watched him like hawks as he slept, the nurses kept coming in and examining him at odd points in the night. They also had to look away at several times when they examined things...down under. Then they realized how thin Bruce really was, all those years of living on the run must've not made for food conditions.

His fever had been spiking and dropping all night, some moments he would be moaning and crying in pain and in others he would be laughing and giggly as they pumped him full of more narcotics. Vomit had been a common occurrence, at least one of them would be manning a puke pail, kidney shaped basin, or bucket that the nurses gave them for Bruce. They hadn't realized how strong puke could be until they almost dropped their containers with the force of it.

Tony and Steve took turns holding him until Clint decided at least one of them needed a break so, he took Steve's spot. After a little while, Natasha took Tony's spot and they would all switch off. Thor made sure that they always had a least a few spare blankets and puke containers on hand at all times.

The Avengers had never realized how important Bruce was to them or how fragile he was, until they felt their hearts break every time he whimpered those little four words when high on narcotics.

"I don't feel good."

By the time morning came all the Avengers were exhausted and the whole hospital room reeked of rancid vomit. But Bruce was sleeping calmly, his head in Clint's lap and the archer playing with his sweaty and fluffy dark curls. The doctor and nurses who came in were smiling as they looked at the room filled with the tired avengers.

"We've gotten the results back from his tests. No inhibitors, the Factor is working just as its supposed too."

The doctor explained and they could've whooped in joy.

"But...he also went into Hypovolemic shock from the amount of blood that had poured into his abdomen before we could remove his spleen. That caused some mild kidney damage and he also became anemic from the large amount of blood he lost during his nosebleed."

The doctor sighed and The Avengers stiffened at the news. Tony stood up and glared at the doctor.

"How do we treat him?!"

He growled and the doctor paled from the death glare coming from none other than Tony Stark.

"W-Well for the anemia, we already gave him a transfusion and for the shock, we already have him on oxygen. We're just waiting for his kidney functions to return to normal and for him to kick this fever."

The doctor explained, softly and Tony stopped glaring as they looked at Bruce who had an oxygen mask on his face and was snuggled into Clint's stomach as he slept.

-TimeSkip-

Bruce blinked awake to be greeted by the rancid smell of day old vomit and bodily fluids. It took him a while before he focused on the group of people gathered around his bed. It was all of the Avengers. Steve and Clint were actually holding him against their chests. He tried to speak but ended up hacking loudly. All of the Avengers jerked into wakefulness as they rushed to help him.

"Water."

He whispered hoarsely and tried to grab a water bottle off of his night stand. Tony snatched up the bottle.

"I've got it!"

He cried and poured the water into a styrofoam cup and held it to Bruce's cracked lips. Bruce just blinked at him and the rest of the Avengers in confusion.

"What happened? Why am I so weak?"

He asked and Steve ran his fingers through Bruce's curls, softly.

"A lot, Brucie. A lot."

Tony sighed and set the water bottle and cup back on the nightstand. Bruce nodded and went right back to sleep, he really was exhausted.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Bruce woke up again and yawned, stretching and then wincing as he felt a sharp stab of pain from the left side of his stomach, just below his ribs. That may have been the only pressing pain but his whole body was extremely sore and achy. He was surprised to see Steve asleep with his head near Bruce's feet and Tony's arm slung over Bruce's chest. Clint and Natasha were asleep on each other in two chairs near his bed while Thor had his head resting against Bruce's heart monitor.

He tried to speak but the only thing that came out was a croaking noise, he cleared his throat and tried to speak again, this time he was satisfied with what came out.

"Guys?"

He rasped and Steve jerked awake, his eyes widening as he saw Bruce. A huge smile broke out across his face and he threw himself at the weak-looking physicist, wrapping him into a huge hug.

"Bruce!"

Steve cried and Bruce was utterly shocked as he was pressed against the musclier chest of the super soldier. Said super soldier began to run his fingers through Bruce's hair comfortingly. Steve's hug knocked Tony's arm off of Bruce's chest and the genius spurred to life in worry and blinked blearily at Steve hugging an extremely confused Bruce Banner. When Tony realized what he was looking at, he grinned as well.

"You're awake, Bruce!"

Tony cried and leaned over to ruffle the physicist's hair. Bruce stared at Tony with even more confusion than he'd looked at Steve with.

"What happened?"

He asked and Tony shrugged, jokingly.

"Nothing if you don't count, Surgery, blood transfusions, vomiting, kidney damage, fever, anemia, and a boat load of other horrible crap. Dammit Bruce! You're going to give us all gray hairs!"

Tony sighed and Bruce blinked at him in surprise and confusion. What had happened?! He had surgery?! Well that explained the lower rib pain.

"What'd I have surgery on?"

Bruce asked and Steve gestured to Bruce's stomach vaguely, his baby blue eyes wide with concern.

"You had something called a GI bleed, they removed your spleen."

He explained, gently and Bruce nodded tiredly. No wonder he was still tired, but he was scared to go to sleep. What would happen this time? He blinked drowsily and Tony ran his fingers through Bruce's hair.

"Sleep, Baby."

He crooned gently and Bruce was happy enough to oblige.

-TimeSkip-

The next time Bruce woke up, he just let the Avengers around him sleep. They must've been exhausted from taking care of him, if the rank smell of days old vomit was any indication. A nurse bustled her way in and smiled at Bruce and his makeshift 'family' around him. She picked her way across to him and began fiddling with his machines.

"Mr. Banner? We're going to move you to a regular room in a few minutes. Would you like me to wake up your brothers and cousins for you?"

The nurse asked, kindly and Bruce raised an eyebrow at this, his eyes flicked over to the whiteboard chart near his bed. Under the 'Family' category was written, 'Brothers- Tony Stark-Banner and Steve Banner, Cousins- Natasha Romanoff-Banner and Clint Barton-Banner, Uncle- Thor Banner.' Bruce could've laughed at what they had cooked up.

"No, let them sleep. They'll wake up in a few minutes anyway."

Bruce sighed, contentedly and the kind-looking nurse nodded as she exited. He still felt slightly warm and sick but was much better than the horribly sick mess he was before. Bruce gently nudged Steve with his hand and he jumped into awareness.

"They're moving me to a normal room in a few minutes."

Bruce said, happily and Steve smiled back.

"That's great Brucie! I'm so glad you're feeling better!"

Steve said, looking as if his giant grin would break his face in half.

'When had he become Brucie?'


	6. Chapter 6

The nurse and two more doctors came into Bruce's room, pushing a wheelchair and Steve looked from the chair to Bruce uncertainly. Bruce just waved off the super soldier and moved to get out of the bed, the moment his feet touched the ground, his head spun dizzyingly and he felt the familiar urge to vomit. He must've moaned because soon he found himself with a face full of super soldier chest and a pair of strong arms around him.

"Brucie? Sweetie? Are you okay?"

Steve asked gently, running his fingers through Bruce's hair as he held him upright. Bruce tried to object and push himself up and off of the super soldier. But Steve was having none of it and he scooped up the physicist into a bridal carry.

Tony chose that moment to wake up and his eyes widened as he saw Bruce's frame in Steve's arms. He instantly leapt up and moved towards them but ended up tripping over Clint's outstretched leg, which woke the archer, who then backed up into Natasha, who woke up then as well. Thor just stayed where he was, sleeping soundly as the three hurried over to Steve and Bruce.

"Oh Shit, not again! Bruce are you alright?!"

Tony cried as he threw himself at them, hands fluttering over Bruce's face like he wanted to do something but had no idea what. Clint and Natasha both gazed at him worriedly and Bruce just stared in shock at them.

"Guys...I-I'm fine. I just got a little bit dizzy."

Bruce stammered and there was a collective sigh of relief as Steve motioned for the nurse to bring Bruce's wheelchair forwards and she did so. While Bruce struggled to get out of Steve's arms, blushing furiously.

"S-Steve! I'm fine, really! There's no need!"

Bruce stuttered, embarrassed but either Steve didn't realize or he didn't care because he just leaned over and gently deposited Bruce in the wheelchair. Tony and Steve instantly surged forwards to flank him as the nurse pulled him from the room, Clint, Natasha and the newly awakened Thor were following close behind.

-TimeSkip-

Bruce found himself in a new room a few minutes later but the only thing he wanted do was go back to sleep. He was really getting annoyed with himself. But he physically jumped in surprise as a nurse bustled in and set a tray of food onto his lap.

The first thing he registered was the nausea that appeared the moment he looked at the somewhat edible hospital food. He closed his eyes and took even, slow breaths as he pushed the food away.

The nurse looked at him with pity and sympathy as she set the tray on his nightstand. Then she began to fiddle with his IV bags and the machines around him as she clucked in worry.

"Hun, please try to eat something soon. You're reaching the four day mark without food."

She hummed worriedly and Tony looked up from what he was doing at the nurse's words, Bruce hadn't eaten in FOUR days?! Well they were going to have to do something about that, weren't they? Tony nudged Steve who had been looking out the window and gestured to Bruce and the uneaten food on the nightstand. Steve realized instantly just what he was getting at.

"Bruce, you have to eat something."

Tony whispered as he came to sit on the edge of Bruce's bed. The physicist's eyes widened and he plastered a smile on his face as he shook his head.

"Tony, really. I'm fine."

He assured the genius-playboy-philanthropist but Tony wasn't buying it for a minute and he motioned for Steve to come over. The super soldier sat on the other edge of Bruce's bed and held a pudding cup and a plastic spoon out towards the physicist.

"Please Bruce. If you don't eat we'll have to hold you down and force feed you."

Steve whimpered, worriedly and Bruce's eyes widened at his words. Knowing Tony and the rest of the Avengers, they wouldn't hesitate to do so. Bruce grabbed the pudding from Steve's hands and pulled open the package, dipping the spoon inside and taking a tentative bite.

He instantly felt the bile rise in this throat and the overwhelming urge to vomit. Tony and Steve must've noticed the way that his face turned green in a way that wasn't in any way correlated to the Hulk because they instantly turned to Clint.

"Clint!"

Tony yelled and the archer surged forwards, kidney shaped basin in hand.

"On it!"

He cried back as he held the basin under Bruce's chin and the physicist couldn't hold it any longer and he vomited half into the basin and half on Hawkeye. But the archer didn't care as he was looking at Bruce with concern. Bruce just leaned backwards as he finished and covered his mouth with his hands, hot tears prickling in the corner of his eyes.

"Oh God, Clint! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"


End file.
